NETWORK FOR GOOD EXEMPLIFIES THE SPIRIT OF GIVING WITH ARRAY OF ONLINE RESOURCES FOR MAKING DONATIONS AND VOLUNTEERING

Upon Completion of Its First Year in Operation, Nonprofit Rings in the Holiday Season with Expanded Opportunities to Give and Get Involved

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., November 19, 2002  In ever-complicated times, people around the world continue to find meaning and fulfillment in the spirit of giving inspired by the holiday season. Powered by the Internet, holiday altruism now has new avenues for giving  and nonprofit organizations large and small are realizing the benefits. Network for Good, a nonprofit organization connecting people to charities via the Internet, today completed a promising first full year of operations, further establishing the Web's dual role in philanthropy as information source and action catalyst. And as the holiday season begins, Network for Good (www.networkforgood.org) is prepared for its most significant level of activity yet.

The largest aggregator of charitable resources on the Internet, Network for Good has facilitated more than $10 million in donations to approximately 10,000 nonprofit organizations, this year. As the holiday season consistently accounts for upwards of 20% of all philanthropic giving, Network for Good is poised to play an increasing role in fulfilling the surge of giving intentions. On the one-year anniversary of its launch, Network for Good released a set of giving-oriented functionality enhancements to build on its dynamic, easy-to-use Web site, which provides a welcome giving resource for the upcoming holiday season.

"Network for Good has begun to deliver on the promise of ePhilanthropy by helping more people use the Internet to give and get involved  both during the holidays and year-round," said Ken Weber, Acting President and COO of Network for Good. "While we're encouraged by a successful first year, our ultimate mission remains our core focus  helping more nonprofits reach more donors and volunteers via one of the most efficient  and ultimately, effective  means possible: the Internet."

Despite a dip in overall philanthropy due to the lagging economy, prospects for Network for Good and ePhilanthropy appear to be stronger than ever. Roughly half of Americans feel donating online is easier and more effective than traditional means, and are more likely in the future to donate, seek volunteer opportunities and advocate causes by using the Internet.1

Matching Volunteers

Most notably in the holiday season, individuals are looking for increasingly thoughtful and creative avenues to give, adopting "alternate giving" practices and carefully researching their decisions. Network for Good empowers people to engage in a more personal search for ways to help  whether by giving money and/or time. With a database of volunteer opportunities powered by VolunteerMatch, Network for Good expects to match more than 60,000 volunteers with specific volunteer opportunities in 2002 alone. In addition, through the Volunteer Network, which Network for Good developed in partnership with USA Freedom Corps and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), this number is expected to climb dramatically higher.

Indeed, the benefits of Network for Good serve both individuals and organizations - in addition to connecting donors and volunteers to charities, Network for Good enables a wide (and growing) community of nonprofit organizations to harness the power of the Internet for fundraising and volunteer recruitment. Nonprofits linked through Network for Good realize lower costs for donor and volunteer acquisition and cultivation, as well as efficiencies in processing and funds distribution, particularly in times of acute need. More than 1,000 NPOs are currently using Network for Good's Donate Now! program, a free, turnkey solution for receiving donations online.

New Tools for Holiday Giving

Beginning its second year of operations, Network for Good has added to its array of giving features with new tools perfect for holiday giving. The site's powerful charity search and volunteer matching databases are now supplemented by additions to the visitor's giving experience:

Gift Baskets: Individuals can support multiple causes through pre-filled Gift Baskets, which are grouped by various themes and causes and come with free gift cards that can be e-mailed or printed.

Favorite Charities List: Users can set up and share a Wish List of the charities they'd like to support (not unlike an online gift registry); visitors can donate to Wish Lists of friends and family members.

Giving Calculators: Links to different giving calculators enable donors to estimate their holiday giving potential by better estimating a donation's impact on their annual budget, and what an average donation would be.

Added Weber: "The new site tools and growing databases of nonprofit and volunteer information demonstrate Network for Good's commitment to an engaging and fulfilling e-philanthropy experience. The holiday season represents an excellent opportunity to identify and help literally thousands of worthy causes using the site. Users can also be assured of the security and privacy of their transactions and that 100% of their donations will reach the nonprofit, or nonprofits, of their choice."

Network for Good hopes to generate further interest and participation during the holiday season through an awareness campaign in print and online media.

About Network for Good [www.networkforgood.org]

Network for Good is the Internet's leading charitable resource  an ePhilanthropy Web site where individuals can donate, volunteer and speak out on the issues they care about. An independent nonprofit organization, Network for Good works to advance giving and volunteering online and nonprofit adoption of the Internet as a tool for fundraising, volunteer recruitment and civic engagement. Network for Good was founded by a partnership of leading nonprofits and Internet companies, including AOL Time Warner Foundation and AOL, Inc.; the Cisco Foundation and Cisco Systems, Inc.; and Yahoo!

Network for Good benefits from a vast network of supporters and partner organizations from the philanthropic sector it serves, including The Ad Council, The American Red Cross, America's Promise, America's Second Harvest, The Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance, the Corporation for National and Community Service, Easter Seals, ePhilanthropyFoundation.org, GuideStar, INDEPENDENT SECTOR, Meyer Foundation, National Mentoring Partnership, NetAid, PipeVine, Points of Light Foundation, Plugged In, PowerUP, SHiNE, TechSoup (CompuMentor), The Urban Institute/National Center for Charitable Statistics, USA Freedom Corps, VolunteerMatch, Washington Area Grantmakers, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and YouthNOISE and Youth Service America/SERVEnet.